Shipping container



Nov. 16, 1948. R. PAUL. ErAL 2,453,930

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed April 1, 194e :a sheets-sheet 1 d/Muy 3mm Nov. 16, 1948. R. PAUL ETAL 2,453,930

SHIPPING CONTAINER Filed April l, 1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v .37 38,/3 36 V :al

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Richard Paul if Gerard l'uZ/raan Bi mwu Patented Nov. 16, 1948 C CE SHIPPING CONTAINER' Richard Paul and Gerard F. Sulfriang. Newark, N, J'.

Application April 1, 1946; Serial No. 658,771

(Cl. 220'?r)i Thisiinvention relates toimprovements in shipping containers particularly for use in transporting gas in liquid form.

Thefprimary object of theinvention is to safely transport liquie'd gasessuch as oxygen, nitrogen, argon', or any similar normally gaseous substance which has been condensed to' liquid form and mustbe held at temperatures of from 175 C. to S50? C. below' zero:

Among its features my invention embodies an outer casing having a reduced neck and defining a closed chamber, an apertured closure for closing the reduced neck andY yielding means to suspend a Dewar-type ask within the. closed chamber and out of contact with the walls thereof.

Other features include' means to prevent the complete lling of the inner container of. the Dewar-type-flaskso astoprovide achamher above the liquid levelv forming a cushion which will serve in a measure t-o absorb some-of the pressure nor mally generated when gases are' condensed to liquied form.

In the transportation of 4liquied gases in Dewar-type flasks it has Ibeen` customary to leave4 themouth of the neck of the flask open to prevent the generation of pressure within the flask of sufficient magnitude to cause disruption thereof, as in spite of all precautions that `can |be employed such liquified gases tend to return to the gaseous, and consequently expanded state, so that to attempt to transport or store liquied gases in a closed container would be highly dangerous, and would in order successfully to accomplish such an end demand that the walls of the container be of such strength and thickness as to render impractical, the construction of containers of such nature.

A further object of the present invention is to permit the sealing of such containers |by employing a pressure relief valve in conjunction with the chamber in the top of the container so that the sealing of a container of normal and practicable wall thickness, may be rendered feasible.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side view of a shipping or storage container for liquied gases embodying the features `of this invention,

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical sectional view taken substantially on the line 2 2 of Figure l,

Figure 3 is a perspective View yof a Dewar-type flask modied in accordance with the features of this invention,

Figure 4 is a transverse sectional View taken substantially on the line 4 4 of Figure 3,

Figure 5' is' a transverse sectional viewta-ken' substantially onthe ylii'iel 5?-5 of"v Figure 2,! and FigureL 6y i`sl a fragmentary enlarged sectional View'L throughA the upper end` off the inner'neck member "of the Dewar flask showing-'fthe same' equipped with` a'pressure gage; and:y pressurelrelief-'valve'.

Referring to the drawings'indetail, an outer container designated" generally Ill, of thetype di'sclesed'l inr design Paten-trio; Des. 138',4'09,issued' August 1 1'9'44 toRL. Pautas'` illustratedi is pror videdy witha conical portin I'I terminating at its upper endl in a neck I2. Thefcont'ainer I0 defines a closed chamber' I3- in# which i`s suspended a Dewar-type flask designated generally' IW. As ll'ustrated the/flask I'IIcomprises an outer lbulbous member I5` which encloses an inner bulbous mem-- ber I6' each of"whi'chV isc respectively formed with anfelongated? neck portion I If and: I8. Asillustratedin Figure 2f the bulbous" portions H5 arel spaced from 'one another to form a closedcham ber I 9 which communicates with a simil'ar'chamber 20 between the tubular neck portions I'I and |181 At the' extremeouterend of the-tubular neck portionI lili is' asealing'gasket 2I and the chambers I'Sand-y Zware" adapted 'to' be' evacuated so as to reduce-thepressuretherebetween-to:a'p'ointwhere1 thermal-conductivity Ibetween the walls is substantially nil. In order to preserve the evacuation of the space between the walls of the cham- |bers a suitalble cage 22 is -amxed to the outer side of the inner container IB and is adapted to contain a getten such as nely divided charcoal which serves as an absorbent f-or any stray gases that may be left in the chambers I9 and 20 after their evacuation. Carried by the outer neck portion II is an annular ange 23 which serves as a st-op for a compression coil spring to be more fully hereinafter explained. A similar stop 24 is threaded on the extreme youter end of the outer neck portion I1, and projecting inwardly into the inner ask I6 in axial alignment with the neck portion I8 is atubular extension 25 through which -communication lbetween the neck portion I8 and the interior of the inner flask I6 is established. This tubular extension serves to prevent the complete lling of the inner ask member I6 with the liquied gas to be transported or stored so as to f-orm a chamber 26 between the surface of the liquid and the upper end of the flask I6 which serves as a container f-or an air cushion on the upper surface of the liquid. Under normal service conditions this cushion helps to prevent the loss of liquid through the neck portion I8, when the latter is left open, but when the neck portion is sealed as suggested in Figure 6 by a cap 21 carrying a Y-coupling to which a pressure gage 28 and a pressure relief valve 29 is attached, the chamber 26 serves as a pressure reservoir and cushions the liquid contained in the inner flask I6.

In order to suspend the Dewar-type flask Id within the chamber I3 I provide a cup-shaped closure 30 provided in its bottom wall with an opening 3| through which the tubular neck portion I1 extends as will readily be seen upon reference to Figure 2. A compression coil spring 33 is fitted around the elongated neck portion I1 between the stop 23 and the under side of the bottom of the cup-shaped closure 3D. A similar compression coil spring 34 rests on the upper side of the bottom of the cup-shaped closure 30 and engages the under side of the stop 24 so that the flask I 4 will be yieldingly suspended with relation to the lclosure 3|). downwardly extending flange 35 is carried by the cup-shaped closure 3D and is adapted to overlie the neck portion I2 of the container III so that the entire unit may readily be suspended in place within the container. Under ordinary conditions, the upper free end of the inner neck portion I8 is provided with a fitting 36 over which a rubber hose may be attached as suggested by the dotted lines in Figure 2. It is to be understood however, that any other suitable attaching means may be provided so that the contents of the inner flask I 6 may be directed as desired when the latter is being emptied. A suitable cap 31 is adapted to close the outer exposed endrof the neck portion I8 though it is preferably provided with a suitable vent opening 38. y

While in the foregoing there has been shown and described the preferred embodiment of this invention it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction, combination, and arrangement of parts may be resorted to Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.

What we claim is:

1. The combination with a Dewar-type ask having an elongated neck, of a suspension device therefor which includes an apertured cupshaped container closure through which the neck An outwardly and of the flask is adapted to extend, a stop intermediate the ends of the neck, a spring surrounding the neck between the inner end of the closure and the stop, a spring surrounding the neck within the cup-shaped closure, a stop adjacent the outer end of the neck and an outwardly extending retaining ange on the closure whereby when the closure is in place on a container the flask will be yieldingly suspended by the springs.

2. A shipping container for transporting gas in liquid form which includes an outer casing having a conical neck defining a closed chamber, a cup-shaped closure inserted into the reduced end of the neck, said closure having an aperture therein the axis of which aligns with the longitudinal axis of the casing, a Dewar-type ask having an elongated neck extending through the aperture in the closure, an outstanding annular flange on the neck adjacent the end remote from the flask, a compression coil spring seated on the bottom of the cup-shaped end closure and engaging the flange yieldingly to suspend the flask in spaced relation to the conical neck of the outer casing, a flange on the neck intermediate its end,

' a compression coil spring surrounding the neck and abutting the last named flange and the under side of the cup-shaped end closure yieldingly to hold the flask in proper place within the outer casing and a cap adapted to enter the upper open end of the cup-shaped end closure to enclose the end of the neck remote from the flask.

RICHARD PAUL. GERARD F. SULFRIAN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Place Apr. 3, 1900 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Germany Mar. 19, 1924 Number Number 

